


Comic Shop Heroes

by seasonofthegeek



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: I'll try to update tags as I write but I'm usually rubbish at that tbh, Rewrite of an old story, and I just really love that dynamic, and adrien and alya are best friends, comic shop au, djiwifi rocks it pretty good, lots of love square love, nino and marinette are best friends, there will definitely be agreste drama at some point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2019-10-27 06:57:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17761982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seasonofthegeek/pseuds/seasonofthegeek
Summary: Ladybug and Carapace have been the long-time heroes of Paris when two new heroes appear on the scene. They aren't sure if they can trust Chat Noir and Rena Rouge but as Hawk Moth gains his own allies, they are left with no choice but to come together and fight their powerful opponent.This is a rewrite of a story by the same name that I wrote two years ago. I have always loved the story but there were things I wanted to change and there have been so many new characters and developments added to the Miraculous universe that I wanted to give this story an update. There are quite a few things that will change along the way and I'm really excited to see where it goes. :)





	1. Chapter 1

“How’s my favorite son today?” Sabine offered Nino a sample of twice-baked cheese bread as he slid behind the bakery counter.

“In love, Mrs. C, absolutely in love.”

“With my daughter?”

“Alas, she would never have me,” he grinned, popping the bread into his mouth. “That right there is awesome and I would eat a whole loaf if you had it. New?”

“Something Tom’s playing with,” she smiled.

“It gets my stamp of approval.”

“I’ll be sure to let him know.” She nodded towards the back door. “She should be upstairs.”

Nino saluted her and grabbed a croissant off the back table as he made his way through the kitchen. He paused to snag a trio of chocolate chip cookies from a plate before he took the stairs two at a time and pushed through the living room door. He hurried up the second set of stairs and swung open the trap door with a flourish.

“Marinette, it’s your lucky day—Aaaaaack!”

There was a screech followed by a pillow hitting him the face and Nino promptly fell back down the stairs.

“Are you dead?” 

Nino groaned, brushing crumbled cookies off his clothes. “I think I only wish I was.”

“Good,” Marinette sniffed, coming down the steps and tugging her shirt into place. “You need to sweep up those crumbs.”

“Good I’m not dead or good that I wish I was dead?”

“Both.” She reached a hand out and pulled her best friend to his feet. “I’m beginning to think you’re doing that on purpose to get a peek. Knocking really isn’t that hard.”

Nino scoffed. “You’re pretty and all, Mari, but I’ve seen you naked before.”

“What?! When?!”

“Uh, we took baths together, like, all the time.” Nino rolled his eyes. “Besides, I totally met the love of my life today. I’m afraid our torrid romance will have to take the backseat for now.”

“We were three so that absolutely doesn’t count, and love of your life, you say?” Marinette led the way over to the couch, curling her legs under her as she sat. She plucked the smashed croissant from his hand as soon as he was in reach. “Do tell me more.”

Nino’s eyes lit up and he dropped down to the couch. “She’s gorgeous and funny and has an awesome body and seems really smart and reads comics and I’m pretty sure she could kick my ass. And I just figured all that out from hanging out for fifteen or so minutes.”

“Wow, so just, like, your whole ‘perfect woman’ checklist, huh?”

“And more.” 

Marinette grinned at his lovesick expression. “And you asked her out?”

“No.”

“Did you find out her name at least?”

“You see...”

“Is this an actual real person or did you drink five energy drinks in a row again and hallucinate?”

Nino threw his hands up in the air. “That was one time! And I was going to ask her what her name was when she was ringing me up, but…I chickened out. I completely chickened out. And if you’ve ever loved me, you will go back with me and find out her name and if she has a boyfriend.”

“Wait, back up, go back where? She works in a store?”

“The new comic book shop that opened up on Rue Descartes.”

Marinette brightened. “The one with the Ladybug and Carapace mural on the side?”

“Yeah! I should go there as Carapace and talk to her. I bet she would love that!”

“That would not be wise, Master.” Wayzz floated up from Nino’s bag that had been tossed to the floor in his fall. 

“You do realize you are an actual legally adult man who should be able to talk to a pretty woman, right?” Marinette cut in, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s not like I got a handbook on a special birthday,” he scoffed. “Come on, I’ll be able to talk to her if you’re there. I just got a little nervous earlier, that’s all.” He eyed his kwami. “I definitely wouldn’t be nervous as Carapace.”

Wayzz frowned. “If you think it’s for the best…”

“How about we try going as Marinette and Nino first? If that doesn’t work, we could always stop in one night before patrol and tell them we enjoy the art.” Marinette stood up, slipping her feet into a pair of pink ballet flats. “Tikki,” she called. “Wanna go play matchmaker for Nino?”

Tikki glided through the trapdoor and down the stairs. “Of course! Maybe then he will stop trying to catch you while you’re getting dressed.”

“It was an accident!”  
___________________________________________________

“Thanks for coming in and have a super day!” Adrien pushed the cash drawer closed with a flourish as a customer walked out the shop door. He turned to Alya. “Isn’t this great?! This has been the best day!”

“Calm down, dork.” Alya grinned to take the sting out of her words. “We still have a lot of work to do and a whole lot of money to make before we’re in the clear.”

“But we’re really doing it, you know? We made this happen.” He looked around the small shop happily. “I can’t believe I own a comic book store.”

“Half a comic book store,” Alya corrected, her eyes never straying from her laptop screen. 

“Three-fourths, if we’re going to be super technical.”

“Just go ahead and dig that hole, rich boy.”

Adrien had the decency to look half-shamed. “Anyway…” He glanced around to make sure the store was empty. “Do you want to see if we can find them tonight? I was hoping they would stop by when they saw the mural but it’s been over a week.”

“I think we can give it a little more time. I, for one, am exhausted. As soon as we close, I’m going home to take a bubble bath, eat quite possibly an entire pizza on my own, and read Majestia fan fiction, most likely all at the same time.” Alya rubbed the bridge of her nose, making her glasses lift into her eyebrows. “Why are we staying open until seven anyway?”

“To give people who work a full day a chance to come by and pick up some delightful reading material. It seems to be the average closing time for most comic shops I researched.” Adrien busied himself with straightening stacks of books that didn’t actually need to be straightened. He shot Alya a triumphant look when the bell above the door chimed and two potential customers strolled in.

“Welcome to Miraculous Comics! Can I help you find anything today?”  
___________________________________________________

Marinette teased Nino most of the way to the comic shop and felt all of it bounce back to her tenfold when they walked into the store and she was greeted by a man she was sure was too pretty to be real.

“Welcome to Miraculous Comics! Can I help you find anything today?”

“We’re just going to, uh, look around…first,” Marinette stammered as she laid eyes on the man behind the counter. He was tall, blonde, and giving her the most adorable grin. She felt her heart stutter a few beats and her face flush. She quickly turned to Nino who was craning his neck around her. “Why didn’t you warn me that he is so gorgeous?” she hissed. “That is definitely not the kind of guy I was expecting to see here.”

“Tisk, tisk, sounds like someone has some stereotypes they need to work on.” Nino spared a glance at the man who now seemed unsure of what to do since his customers didn’t want his help. “Oh yeah, he’s hot,” he whispered back. “I was more concerned about the beautiful woman who can kill me though.”

“I’m going to go down the street and grab a coffee. You want one?” A woman stood with a groan from her desk behind the counter and stretched her hands above her head. 

Upon finally seeing his crush, Nino swiftly jabbed Marinette in the side with his elbow to get her attention. She’d been sneaking glances at the blonde man from under her bangs and yelped in surprise, stepping back and knocking over a standing rack filled with comic trade paperbacks. Trying to catch the rack from hitting the ground, Marinette found herself tripping over her own feet and falling backwards to land flat on her back, her breath rushing out of her as paperback books rained down around her.

“Oh my goodness, are you okay?” The pretty man was around the counter and squatting down beside her in record time. 

“Mari, I’m so sorry!” Nino dropped down to help her into a sitting position. “It was an accident.”

The woman joined them but stayed standing as she held out her hand. “Do you need to go to the hospital? How many fingers am I holding up? Crap, do we have insurance for this kind of thing?” 

“Four…five?” Marinette answered, a little dazed.

“Does a thumb count as a finger?” the man asked, glancing over at his partner’s spread hand.

“I don’t know, that’s why I wasn’t sure.” Marinette held a hand up to her head. “Ow.”

“Please don’t sue us,” the young woman said. “I mean, you really can’t sue us, I don’t think. You could sue him. Maybe you should sue him.” She gestured towards Nino and then crossed her arms. “Why did you push her anyway?”

“I, uh, I didn’t, uh…I mean, I did but it wasn’t a push. It was, uh…” Nino stumbled over his words, face growing red.

“It was an accident,” Marinette interjected. 

“And you’re sure you’re okay?” the man questioned, concern lacing his voice. 

Marinette flushed. He was so close she could smell him. She couldn’t put a name to his scent but she immediately knew she liked it. She didn’t think it was possible to blush more but she could feel her face continue to heat up. “I’m fine. Just really embarrassed.”

He laughed then. “Don’t be! You should have seen me when we were moving stuff in. I thought it would be cool to jump on the counter and slide over.” He paused until Marinette looked up at him. “It was not cool. It was not cool at all. I was limping for three days.” He chuckled again.

“I have the video to prove it.” The other woman held out a hand to Marinette who took it gratefully. “I’m Alya Cesaire, co-owner of this shop.”

“I’m Marinette and this is Nino.” Marinette grabbed Nino’s arm as he rose with them. “He was in earlier and made the place sound so cool that we had to come back.”

“It’s cool here,” Nino squeezed out awkwardly.

“We try to be cool, I guess,” Alya smiled, eyeing the blushing man. “That dork is my partner, Adrien.” She motioned to the blonde man who was righting the fallen rack.

“Hi.” Adrien held his hand out to shake Nino’s and then turned to Marinette. She shook his hand quickly but firmly, noting the thick silver ring on his right hand. The metal was cool against her skin and gave her a shiver. Marinette looked up to see Adrien’s eyes, radiant green, and felt her face flush again. This was getting ridiculous. A fallen book by her foot grabbed her attention.

“Oh no! Let me help get all of these up.” She reached down and picked up the closest book, wincing when she saw the bent cover. “I’ll pay for any of the damages. Well, we’ll pay for them,” she glared at Nino.

“That would be nice,” Alya replied while Adrien interjected, “Don’t worry about it!”

The four made quick work of filling the rack back up and Marinette carried the small stack of damaged books to the counter.

“You really don’t need to buy these. It was an accident,” Adrien argued. “Accidents happen. We can just put mark them down on a sale table or something.”

“I messed them up; I don’t mind paying for them. Besides, these covers look interesting.”

He hesitated. “Well, if you’re sure…”

“If you insist on buying them, why don’t we do them at half off?” Alya countered. “Win, win.”

“Deal.” Marinette held her hand out to Nino expectantly. He sighed and pulled out his wallet, handing her his debit card. She gave it Adrien, heat flashing up her arm when their fingers touched.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the excited comments on the first chapter! I'm looking forward to revisiting this story and I'm glad to have new readers and the readers from the first time around excited about it too <3

“Do you think that guy is her business partner or her partner in a romantic sense?” Carapace widened his force shield as a bolt of energy almost slid past him. “Because I think it only meant business but maybe I’m wrong.”

“Now?! We’re doing this now?” Ladybug swung her yo-yo around the shield but missed her target. The akuma roared in rage and sent another bolt on energy at the heroes. “Wait, do you think they really are dating?”

Carapace grunted and pushed forward. “They didn’t seem all that romantic to me. They just didn’t have that vibe.”

“So you’re saying we have that vibe? People think we’re dating all the time.” Ladybug tried to focus on the angered akuma. Apparently someone had pissed off the manager at the electric plant and he wanted everyone to know about it.

“You aren’t answering the question. Does that mean you think they were romantic?” Carapace dodged another bolt. “What if they’re dating? What if they’re married?! My life is over.”

“Yes it is. Now give me your miraculous!” The akuma reached out a hand towards the turtle hero who parried it away with his shield. 

“Dude, I was so not talking to you.”

Ladybug took the opportunity to sneak around the back of the akuma and lift the ID badge hanging from his belt. She snapped it in half and released the dark butterfly. She caught it swiftly in her compact, cleansed it, and let it fly free. “No more evildoing for you. Bye-bye, little butterfly,” she crooned as the glowing creature floated away. “I love getting to say that.”

She moved to help her partner with the confused victim when she heard clapping. Two silhouetted figures stood on the rooftop ledge of the building to the left of them. The clapping figure had glowing green eyes that glinted in the moonlight. “I have to say, that performance was absolutely electrifying.”

Ladybug moved herself warily between the newcomers and her partner and the plant manager. “What do you want?”

“Nothing quite so shocking as that guy.” Both figures leapt down from the ledge to land on even ground with the trio. “We just want to help.”

The man was tall and blonde and apparently a fan of leather and cats. Black ears protruded from his wild hair and a black mask covered eyebrows to nose. His eyes were disconcertingly green with slit pupils. The rest of his suit looked like dark leather, complete with a tail. There was even a gold bell at his neck. 

“Are you a house cat or something?” she asked, assessing them warily.

“I could be for you,” he grinned.

His partner was wrapped in a suit of dark oranges, browns, and creams. Her hair went from reddish brown to white at the tips and she held a staff in one hand. Golden animal eyes were calm and watching behind her mask and a wide tail moved behind her. The realization that she looked very much like a fox slid into Ladybug’s mind and she took a careful step back. There was something in the other woman’s stance that had her wary.

Ladybug felt Carapace at her back. “I sent the guy downstairs,” he murmured. “He’s out of if but unharmed other than that. Thought it was best he didn’t see whatever this is.”

“Good call,” she replied. 

The four studied each other for a long minute before the cat stepped forward and reached for Ladybug’s hand.

“Chat Noir, at your service, m’lady.” He bowed dramatically before raising his head and flashing her a wink. She pulled her hand back and hoped the darkness hid her blush. Her earrings had warmed against her lobes when he’d taken her hand and the effect was disconcerting. She rarely got feelings like that from Tikki and never something so tactile.

“I’m Rena Rouge.” The fox woman held out her hand and Ladybug shook it. It was a firm handshake, almost challenging but not quite. She offered her hand to Carapace next and he waited a few seconds before reciprocating. 

“I’m Ladybug and this is—“

“Carapace,” Rena Rouge supplied as she released his hand. “Yeah, we’ve been watching you guys for a while now.” An awkward silence filled the air between them and she laughed nervously. “Wow, that came off creepy. I didn’t mean it to be creepy. We’ve just been really excited to finally meet and help the heroes of Paris.”

“Yes, it’s meow-velous to finally meet you mask to mask,” Chat Noir grinned.

“Dude.” The turtle hero gave the other man an unimpressed stare.

“Come on, that was perfect.”

Ladybug saw Rena Rouge ducking her head shyly and re-evaluated her initial impression of the other woman as she finally stepped away from Carapace and closer to Chat Noir. She glanced to Carapace and he was staring at both of them with an unreadable expression.

BEEP.

The red heroine’s hand flew to her ear. “Hate to cut this short but we’ve got to run. We should meet up soon though and discuss this.” She vaguely motioned her hand between them all. 

“Any time, any place for you, Bugaboo.” Chat Noir leaned into her personal bubble again and Ladybug quickly stepped back. Her whole suit seemed to buzz around her.

“Duuuude,” Carapace repeated, drawing it out a bit. 

BEEP.

“Do you know the new comic shop on Rue Descartes?” Ladybug asked.

“The one with the amazing mural and the gorgeous…uh, manager,” Carapace interjected, stuttering out the last few words in embarrassment. 

Rena Rouge didn’t bother hiding her smile. “Miraculous Comics?”

“Yeah. Let’s meet on the roof tomorrow night after dusk. We can talk more then.”

“Until we meet again,” Chat Noir smiled, reaching out for a third time.

BEEP.

“Gotta go!” Ladybug cast her yo-yo out and swung away. Carapace gave the two new heroes one last glance and then turned to run after her, tossing his shield like a Frisbee ahead of him and leaping off the roof ledge to jump on it and glide through the air in the same direction.

“Now that is so cool. Why didn’t we get something we can ride?”

Chat Noir didn’t reply as his gaze followed the swinging red blur until he couldn’t make her out anymore. 

Rena Rouge bumped his shoulder affectionately. “You really need to cool it. You were getting a little pushy and I don’t think she was into it.”

“I can’t help it.” He finally wrenched his eyes away from the skyline. “When I touched her, it was like I was suddenly whole. I think I’m in love.”

“I think you’re delusional. Besides, are you already over the clumsy girl that messed up all those books earlier? You talked about her for an hour.”

“Oh yeah, she was cute. But come on, we’ve been watching them for over a year. She’s even more amazing in person,” he sighed dreamily. “Besides, I got all warm and happy when I got to hold her hand. I think Plagg likes her too.”

She laughed and punched him in the arm in a familiar playful manner. “Go home, Romeo. I’ll see you tomorrow.”  
_______________________________

Marinette barely landed on the roof of Nino’s apartment building when Tikki dropped her transformation and fluttered about in frenzy.

“It was him! It was Plagg!”

Carapace joined Marinette and dropped his transformation with a frown. Tikki ambushed Wayzz as soon as he materialized.

“Did you feel them? It was Plagg and Trixx!”

Wayzz disentangled himself from the other kwami and floated to Nino’s shoulder as the pair started down the stairs. “Keep it down until we get inside please, Tikki.”

The red kwami fluttered about her holder as they walked down the hall and Nino let them all into his apartment. Wayzz went to the counter to nibble on a bit of crusty baguette he had leftover from earlier. Tikki dropped in an impatient huff beside him but held her tongue.

Marinette offered her irritated kwami a cookie from the container on Nino’s counter. “Are you saying they have Miraculous like us?”

“Yes!” she nodded. “The Black Cat Miraculous has been lost for decades. I didn’t think we’d ever see it again.”

“Which was probably for the best,” Wayzz added quietly.

“Wayzz!” Tikki admonished. “How can you say that? I know you and Plagg don’t exactly get along, but you know how much better we all are together.”

“Wayzz not agreeing with someone? I’m shocked.” Nino gave his kwami a reassuring head rub. “Seriously though, what’s the deal?” 

“He’s caused the death of thousands of people. People we are meant to protect.”

“He couldn’t help who is his holder was. None of us can.” Tikki was back up in the air as if she had too much energy to expel. “Just like Nooroo can’t help being tied to Hawk Moth now.”

“I think we’re going to need a history lesson.” Marinette settled herself in Nino’s recliner, curling up and reaching for her favorite blanket to spread over her lap. She loved Nino’s apartment. “All I remember Master Fu saying about the Black Cat was that it had been lost a long time ago, like the Peacock. And for some reason, I thought the Fox Miraculous had been destroyed.”

“That is troubling,” Wayzz conceded. “As far as we knew, the Fox had been destroyed by the Black Cat holder actually.”

“So these guys are just copycats?” Nino asked, stretching out along the couch and dislodging miscellaneous gaming controllers, books, and empty soda bottles. “The costumes looked really good. And their eyes were…I guess they could’ve been contacts.”

“No!” Tikki responded vehemently. “It was really Plagg. I know it. I could feel it.”

“How?”

“Plagg and I are tied together. Unlike any of the other Miraculous, we were meant to always be a pair. The Ladybug and the Black Cat are two halves of a whole.”

“Is that why your magic kept freaking out on me when he got too close? You could feel your other half?” Marinette held out her hand and Tikki finally settled down into it. Her big eyes were sad.

“It’s been so long since we were together. Plagg’s last holder was…not a good man. He abused his power and our holders were pitted against each other and…” The red kwami’s voiced trailed off. 

“And his holder killed yours,” Wayzz finished. “He burned her body until you barely got away with the earrings. He tried to destroy you.”

“But that wasn’t Plagg’s fault,” Tikki cried but her voice had lost the conviction it held before.

“You were barely alive when you found us, Tikki.” Wayzz settled on the top of the couch. 

Marinette held her kwami close to her for comfort.

“So say Chat Noir and Rena Rouge actually have the real Miraculous. Can we trust them?” Nino’s voice was soft in the darkened room, only the light from the kitchen stove illuminating the small apartment. 

“Only time will tell,” Wayzz replied, landing lightly on Nino’s chest. “Each holder is different and these could very well be people wanting to use the power for good. However, I would advise caution in your dealings with them until we know more. I am very curious as to where the Fox has been if not destroyed and how this pair came across the Miraculous.”

“Maybe the Cat holder just pretended to destroy it and kept it?”

“Perhaps but I felt Trixx’s essence being ripped away. They were wonderful at illusions but that isn’t something that can be faked with me.”

“And Trixx wouldn’t try to trick you like that,” Tikki agreed. “Not you. Besides, Harmington was winning against us. There was no reason to need to trick us with that.”

“Harmington was the Black Cat?” Nino asked.

“Yes.”

“Harm-ing-ton. Little on the nose.”

Wayzz gave his holder a confused look. “It was his name, Master.”

“Wayzz.”

“Apologies. Nino.”

“So we have a lot of questions and no answers.” Marinette yawned and realized how exhausted she was. “Must be a Tuesday. Can I stay here tonight?”

“Like you even have to ask,” Nino replied as his eyes slid closed. “Take the bed. I’m too comfortable to move.”

The temptation to stay in the recliner was there but Marinette forced herself up and trudged to Nino’s room. She pushed the pile of clean laundry off his bed and into a nearby basked and then curled up in blankets that smelled pleasantly like her best friend. Sleep was beginning to take when she remembered bright green cat eyes and the way it felt to be near Chat Noir. She had a feeling things were about to get very interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

“Nino’s?” Sabine asked, following her daughter as she rushed up the stairs to her room.

“Yeah, I forgot he got a new phone and now his charger doesn’t work for my phone and my phone had, like, three percent battery life left so I couldn’t set an alarm.” Marinette was a whirlwind, shedding clothes and replacing them with cleaner pieces. “Sorry I didn’t call.”

“We know you’re an adult, but we just worry when we don’t hear from you.”

“I know, Mom. I’m sorry.” Marinette paused to give her mother a quick hug. “I’ll try to do better.”

“That’s all I ask.” Sabine lifted Marinette’s messenger bag from the floor and slid it on her daughter’s shoulder. “Now hurry; you don’t want to be late for class.”

Marinette raced out of the bakery and down the three blocks until she reached the Agreste Fashion and Design Institute extension of her university. She’d just started her last year with a focus in fashion design and a heavy dose of textiles and ornamentation. She was half excited about finally being done with her education and half terrified of figuring out what she was supposed to do once she graduated. 

As she settled into her first class with a couple of minutes to spare, Marinette’s mind drifted. Maybe it was time to move out into her own place. Nino rented his tiny apartment almost two years ago and seemed happy enough. Of course, Nino actually made decent money. He worked most nights at a club near the Seine and was a bike messenger by day. He’d forgone any university, claiming his street smarts were more than enough for him. Since he’d been one of the smartest students in her classes growing up, she didn’t argue.

Marinette, on the other hand, received a small paycheck from her parents when she helped at the bakery on the weekends and made money on commissioned pieces from friends and a few online orders but that form of payment was unreliable at best. She never knew when the next order would come in. She could ask Nino if he wanted to move into a bigger place with her, but there was probably such a thing as spending too much time together. Besides, if Nino had his way, he would have the comic book shop girl, Alya, as company soon and Marinette definitely didn’t want to share a thin wall for that.

Her mind wandered along that path to Adrien. He was gorgeous and seemed genuinely nice during their single interaction. Maybe they could set up a double date of sorts, if he was even available. The possibility seemed thin but she could hope. It would be to see him again though. Maybe she could think of a reason to stop back by the store soon.

“…and that is probably the best piece of advice I could give anyone wanting to go into fashion,” the professor concluded. 

“Well, crap,” Marinette muttered.  
___

Nino checked the address on the small package one more time, thanked Ladybug’s good luck that had obviously rubbed off on him, and pushed through the glass door of Miraculous Comics. 

“Special delivery,” he called. Adrien straightened up from behind the counter, holding a piece of cheese with a disgusted look on his face.

“Oh, hey!” His face brightened. “Niles, right?”

“Nino.”

Adrien popped himself in the head with the heel of his hand. “Sorry.”

Nino laughed, “No reason to beat yourself up over it, bro.” He held up the package. “Just you today or…”

“Alya had to run some errands but she should be back before the afternoon rush.”

He sent a discreet look around the empty shop. “When does that usually start?”

“I’m not actually sure but hopefully there will be a rush?” Adrien tried not to wince. “Honestly, I don’t know much about business. I’m learning on the job which apparently isn’t the way you’re supposed to do it.”

“Seems a good enough way to me.” Nino nodded at the chunk of cheese in his hand. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your lunch.”

“What? Oh, this.” He tossed the cheese under counter and took the package the other man handed him. Adrien glanced at the return address and tossed it under the counter with the cheese. “So did your girlfriend like the books?”

“My girlfriend?” Nino scrunched up his face. “Oh, you mean Marinette? She’s my best friend, so not my girlfriend. Definitely not my girlfriend. I’m one hundred percent single, just in case anyone is curious.” He looked around the empty store once more as if Alya would magically appear.

“Oh, that’s cool. Cool, cool, cool.” Adrien drummed his fingers on the counter. “I am too. You know, just in case anyone else wants to know.”

They glanced at each other but kept any further queries to themselves. Nino finally took a step back. “I better get going. More deliveries to make.”

“Yeah, sure.” Nino was almost to the door when Adrien spoke again. “Hey! Do you want maybe hang out sometime?”

Nino turned around cautiously. “Uh, look, when I said I was single, I meant—“

“Wait! Holy cats, no, not that,” Adrien floundered. “I mean, you’re a nice looking guy and all but that’s not…” He scrunched his nose as his cheeks darkened. “I just meant that I’m new in town and Alya’s the only person I know and you seem cool. We could hang out or grab something to eat or go do…whatever you like doing?”

“Yeah, man,” Nino chuckled. He went back to the counter. “Give me your phone.” He plugged his number in and handed it back. “I gotta go finish up work. Text me later and we’ll make plans.”

When Adrien checked his phone, he found his new friend under “Nino not Niles”.  
___

“So you’re just intrinsically clumsy, huh?” Alya helped Marinette up for the second time in twenty-four hours and couldn’t stop a smile from forming.

“I’m so sorry.” Marinette juggled her portfolios back into her arms. “I’ve really got to watch where I’m going.” Her eyes lit up with recognition when she finally took a look at her rescuer. “Alya, right? From the comic shop?”

“That’s me. What is all this stuff?” Alya held Marinette’s bag out for a moment before shrugging it onto her own shoulder.

“I’m in my last stretch at the fashion institute. We have to present a seven-piece line by the end of the year and I’m pretty much drowning in prep.”

“That sounds kind of awful.” Alya motioned down the sidewalk. “Want some help getting all this home?”

“If you really don’t mind, I’d appreciate it, thank you. It’s only a block down. School’s really not that bad, just a lot right now. It’ll be worth it to graduate in one piece from Agreste.” Marinette missed the disgusted look cross Alya’s face. 

“Is your boyfriend in fashion too?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend!” Marinette tripped over a crack in the sidewalk, saving her balance and portfolios at the last minute with a flail of her arms and a well-timed squawking sound. She blushed as Alya laughed. 

“So that cute bumbling mess you came in the store with last night is just a friend?”

“Nino is my best friend, but yeah, no romantic attachments at all, believe me.” She gave the other woman a coy sideways glance. Are you interested in him?”

“I don’t know,” Alya replied lightly. “It’s hard to be interested in someone you don’t really know.”

“Well, I know for a fact that he would very much like to get to know you,” Marinette grinned. “He will kill me if he finds out I told you but he’s the one that made me come back to the store with him just to see you.”

“Is that so?” Alya bit her lip. “That’s kinda cute.”

“He’s pretty great. Oh, this is me.” The pair stopped in front of the bakery.

“Very good to know.” Alya handed Marinette’s bag to her. “Tell Bumbling Mess to come by and ask me out sometime if he wants to get to know me.”

“Will do. Thanks again for the help.”

“No problem. You should come by the store again too and buy some more books and we’ll call it even.”

“Deal,” Marinette smiled.

Alya turned to go but looked back with a teasing smile. “And you should come by around lunch.”

“Okay, why?”

“That’s when Adrien works and it turns out that I also know for a fact that he’d very much like to get to know you too.” And with that, Alya strolled down the street, leaving a gaping Marinette to pick up her jaw.  
___

“So how are we going to play this tonight?” Carapace sat on the ledge of the Miraculous Comics roof and stayed on the lookout for their visitors.

“We find out where they came from and what their plans are. They talked about helping us,” Ladybug replied, fiddling with her yo-yo. Tikki promised to try to keep herself in control but Marinette felt like she was covered in low voltage electricity. Her skin crawled with it and while it wasn’t necessarily a comfortable feeling, it wasn’t unpleasant either. She found herself curious to be near Chat Noir again as well.

“And she really said I should ask her out?”

“What?”

“Alya.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s what she said. She has a really pretty smile too and she was smiling a lot when we were talking about you.”

“Nice.” Carapcae straightened. “Here they come.”

Within moments, Chat Noir landed with a soft thud, his baton shrinking and disappearing behind his back and Rena Rouge joined his side a few seconds later. 

“My Lady, Ninja Turtle.”

“It’s Carapace, Kitty Cat.”

“You’re both pretty, boys,” Rena Rouge smirked.

“Why don’t we get down to it?” Ladybug took a few steps back to give her more space away from Chat Noir and felt the cool brick of the chimney against her back. It was a soothing comfort. Now that he was actually here, her curiosity was giving way to wariness. “We would like to know a bit more about you, where you came from, how long you’ve been around, what your plans are, that sort of thing.”

“I want to know more about you too, Bugaboo.” Chat moved a few steps closer to lean against the wall beside Ladybug. She willed herself not to move out of stubbornness. A part of her also had to admit it soothed something inside her to have him near. 

Carapace cleared his throat and took a pointed step towards them before falling into a more relaxed stance. “How about you two start and then maybe we’ll share our story?”

“We found the jewelry,” Rena Rouge answered, pulling the attention away from the two leaning by the chimney. “They were in a box in the, uh…” She trailed off and glanced at her partner. “Anyway, when we touched them, we met the kwamis who power them and decided we wanted to do what we could to help.”

“You just happened upon a magic ring and necklace in a box of junk in your attic?” Carapace asked skeptically. Ladybug could see the tension running through him even but doubted it was visible to the two strangers with them. He’d always been good at hiding things when he wanted to. She wondered what Wayzz had told him about the other two kwamis to have him so on edge. He wasn’t usually so quick to judge.

“It doesn’t sound as cool when you say it like that,” Chat Noir argued. He slid down the chimney wall to take a seat. 

Ladybug was tempted to sit down beside it but fought the impulse and stayed standing. There was something exhilarating about knowing he was still close enough to touch her though. Her whole suit felt warm with the thought of it. 

“And we never said they were in the attic. We found them in my house. Is that enough of an answer for you, Shelly?”

Carapace ignored the nickname. “I think you need to hand them over. You found the Miraculous and just decided you were going to play superhero. That’s not how it works. People have to be chosen to wield this power.”

“Chosen or not, here we are.” Rena Rouge shot Carapace a haughty smile. “What are you, the Miraculous police?”

“He’s the Guardian,” Ladybug replied before her partner could. “So, yeah, if there was a such thing, he’d be the Miraculous police.”

“I’m the protector of all the inactive Miraculous. I’m the one who chooses the holder when the situation warrants one.” Carapace was now standing straight in his Guardian pose that Marinette liked to tease him about. She wouldn’t tease him tonight though. Something was different in him since the other two had shown up. She really needed to find out what Wayzz knew about the Black Cat and Fox.

“And you chose yourself? That doesn’t seem very fair.” Chat Noir got to his feet but stayed against the door. “And who are you to say we aren’t worthy to have these anyway? You don’t know anything about us.”

Ladybug moved into the space between Carapace and Chat Noir. “We aren’t saying you aren’t worthy, but it’s worrisome for you two to show up out of the blue when we already have to battle Hawk Moth’s akumas on a regular basis. Being a Miraculous holder doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the good guys.”

She and Carapace shared a moment of silent communication and then he took a step back in show of giving her the lead. She offered a small smile before turning away from him to give Chat Noir and Rena Rouge her full attention. 

“The previous Guardian chose me to protect this city, but he’s gone now,” Ladybug answered. “Circumstances called for Carapace to become the new Guardian.” 

It had been over a year since Master Fu’s murder at his home. Nino found his body two days after the fact while making a delivery. Someone had come after the remaining Miraculous and Wayzz had been forced to shield and hide the powerful jewels from the attacker as he watched his master die. 

Marinette could clearly recall Nino’s frantic phone call. He’d called her first and she made him hang up to call the police as she transformed and made it to Fu’s. As soon as Ladybug was inside, Wayzz dropped his shield and fell, revealing the box holding the remaining inactive Miraculous.

“You need to take his bracelet before the others come,” Wayzz had croaked, his voice weak and tears running down his small face. “Someone has to take over. There must be a Guardian.”

“You.” Ladybug turned to Nino. “You have to do this.”

Nino’s jaw dropped. “What? No. I’m not you, Mar- Ladybug. I can’t do this.”

She remembered the way everything in her stomach threatened to crawl back up her throat as she reached down and carefully slid the bracelet off of Fu’s bloated wrist. She held her breath, the smell burning at her nostrils. Later that night she sobbed harder than she’d ever cried before for the man who’d chosen her, who had seen something in her that she hadn’t even seen herself all those years ago.

She’d held the bracelet out to Nino. “There’s no one else I trust more.”

Back in the present, Carapace stood tall behind her. “I think it would be for the best if you two gave your Miraculous to me. I’ll protect them and if the need arises for more heroes, I can call on you.”

“Like hell,” Chat Noir spat as he looked past Ladybug to the other man. 

“I’m with the kitty,” Rena Rouge added. “You’re not taking our Miraculous. You don’t want our help? Fine. Keep Paris to yourself. I’m sure Hawk Moth would prefer it that way. Less chance of losing and all.”

“Everyone just calm down,” Ladybug pleaded. “Carapace, I think you might be acting a little hastily. We can all sit down and talk about this like mature adults. There’s no reason to turn this into a fight.”

“You don’t know what I know, Spots.” Carapace’s eyes never left Chat Noir. “He is too dangerous to be off a leash and she shouldn’t exist. There’s something very wrong going on here and Wayzz said this is the only way to try to fix it.””

“You don’t even know us!” Chat threw his hands in the air, exasperated. “We aren’t the bad guys!”

“I know who gives you your power. That’s enough. Plagg can’t be allowed in the hands of a rouge holder, not again.”

The other man’s expression transitioned from anger to surprise. “What do you know about Plagg?”

Rena Rouge moved closer to her partner and touched his arm. “I think we’re done here. This obviously isn’t going to work how we hoped. Let’s go.”

“Please wait. It doesn’t have to be like this.” Ladybug moved forward and reached out for Chat’s shoulder as he reluctantly turned with Rena Rouge. Magic flared white-hot between them and they both went down to their knees with matching gasps.

“What was that?” Chat Noir’s voice cracked as he spoke but even still he reached out to place his hand one Ladybug’s side as if he would pull her closer to him.

“What did you do to him?!” Rena Rouge grabbed her partner’s other arm and hoisted him up roughly. He moved limply with her but his eyes never left Ladybug’s. “Come on, Chat. Move!” She pushed and pulled him to the edge of the roof and then looked back at this angry Carapace and shocked Ladybug. “This sucks, you know. We really wanted to help you.” With that, she pulled both of them off the side of the roof. 

Ladybug was up on her feet and rushing to the edge of the roof before she had a chance to think but there was no sign of either of them on the street below. She spun to glare at Carapace. Anger was more comfortable than the confusion swirling inside her and she grasped at it frantically. “What the hell was that?!”

“Can we not do this now?” He dropped his shield to the roof and stepped on it as wings slid out from the side to go into gliding mode. 

“You are so not running away from me!” Ladybug planted one foot on the glider. “We’re talking about this. Here or your place?”

He huffed but could tell she would hunt him down sooner or later. “How about your place this time?”

“You just want somewhere you can run from.”

“I’ll come by in fifteen.”

“Fine.”

**Author's Note:**

> Be sure to check out my tumblr: seasonofthegeek for more Miraculous content! :)


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